U.S. patent number 8,444,203 [Application Number 12/871,411] was granted by the patent office on 2013-05-21 for driving position adjusting apparatus for vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Mazda Motor Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is Isao Hirashima, Asami Iwamoto, Shingo Kunihiro, Hirotake Matsuki, Tomonori Ohtsubo, Toshihiko Tomita. Invention is credited to Isao Hirashima, Asami Iwamoto, Shingo Kunihiro, Hirotake Matsuki, Tomonori Ohtsubo, Toshihiko Tomita.
United States Patent |
8,444,203 |
Ohtsubo , et al. |
May 21, 2013 |
Driving position adjusting apparatus for vehicle
Abstract
A driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle comprises a
driver's seat provided on a floor panel of a vehicle compartment,
an operational pedal, such as an accelerator pedal, which is
operated by a driver seated in the driver's seat, an incline-face
portion which is provided on the floor panel, on which a heel of
the driver operating the operational pedal is placed, the
incline-face portion having an upper face which is inclined so that
a front portion thereof is located at a higher position than a rear
portion thereof, and a heel-placement height adjusting device which
adjusts a height position of the driver's heel placed on the
incline-face portion at least by moving up or down the incline-face
portion.
Inventors: |
Ohtsubo; Tomonori (Hiroshima,
JP), Tomita; Toshihiko (Hiroshima, JP),
Hirashima; Isao (Hiroshima, JP), Kunihiro; Shingo
(Hiroshima, JP), Iwamoto; Asami (Hiroshima,
JP), Matsuki; Hirotake (Hiroshima, JP) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Ohtsubo; Tomonori
Tomita; Toshihiko
Hirashima; Isao
Kunihiro; Shingo
Iwamoto; Asami
Matsuki; Hirotake |
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima |
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A |
JP
JP
JP
JP
JP
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Mazda Motor Corporation
(JP)
|
Family
ID: |
43413668 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/871,411 |
Filed: |
August 30, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20110068608 A1 |
Mar 24, 2011 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 18, 2009 [JP] |
|
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2009-217686 |
Sep 18, 2009 [JP] |
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2009-217687 |
Sep 18, 2009 [JP] |
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2009-217688 |
Sep 18, 2009 [JP] |
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2009-217689 |
Sep 29, 2009 [JP] |
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2009-225435 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
296/75 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N
2/074 (20130101); G05G 1/30 (20130101); B60N
2/067 (20130101); G05G 1/60 (20130101); B60N
2/1615 (20130101); B60T 7/06 (20130101); B60N
2/0252 (20130101); Y10T 74/20528 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B60N
3/06 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;296/75 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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738012 |
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Jul 1943 |
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DE |
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1 623 865 |
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Feb 2006 |
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EP |
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1 974 992 |
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Oct 2008 |
|
EP |
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2009-083781 |
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Apr 2009 |
|
JP |
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2006/043737 |
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Apr 2006 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
The Extended European Search Report dated Jan. 26, 2011;
Application No. 10008848.3-1254. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Pape; Joseph
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Studebaker & Brackett PC
Studebaker; Donald R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle,
comprising: a driver's seat provided on a floor panel of a vehicle
compartment; an operational pedal operated by a driver seated in
the driver's seat; an incline-face portion provided on the floor
panel, on which a heel of the driver operating the operational
pedal is placed, the incline-face portion having an upper face
which is inclined so that a front portion thereof is located at a
higher position than a rear portion thereof; and a heel-placement
height adjusting device to adjust a height position of the driver's
heel placed on the incline-face portion at least by moving up or
down the incline-face portion, wherein said operational pedal
comprises a movable pedal member which is operated by the driver
and a pedal base member which pivotally supports the movable pedal
member, said heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a
movable floor portion which is supported at a support base provided
on the floor panel so as to move up or down and a drive portion
which drives the movable floor portion for moving up or down of the
movable floor portion, and said pedal base member of the
operational pedal is attached to the support base of the
heel-placement height adjusting device as a unit, whereby the
heel-placement height adjusting device and the operational pedal
are assembled to a vehicle body as a unit.
2. The driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle of claim
1, wherein said incline-face portion is arranged on an upper face
of said movable floor portion of the heel-placement height
adjusting device.
3. The driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle of claim
2, wherein a longitudinal length and a longitudinal position of
said movable floor portion is set based on a foremost position and
a rearmost position of the driver's heel which is changeable
depending on a body size and a sitting position of the driver
seated in the driver's seat.
4. The driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle of claim
1, wherein said operational pedal is an accelerator pedal to
control a vehicle traveling drive source.
5. The driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle of claim
4, wherein a lower end portion of the movable pedal member is
pivotally supported at the pedal base member.
6. A driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle,
comprising: a driver's seat provided on a floor panel of a vehicle
compartment; an operational pedal operated by a driver seated in
the driver's seat; an incline-face portion provided on the floor
panel, on which a heel of the driver operating the operational
pedal is placed, the incline-face portion having an upper face
which is inclined so that a front portion thereof is located at a
higher position than a rear portion thereof; and a heel-placement
height adjusting device to adjust a height position of the driver's
heel placed on the incline-face portion at least by moving up or
down the incline-face portion, wherein said operational pedal
comprises a movable pedal member which is operated by the driver
and a pedal base member which pivotally supports the movable pedal
member, said heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a
movable floor portion which is supported at a support base provided
on the floor panel so as to move up or down and a drive portion
which drives the movable floor portion for moving up or down of the
movable floor portion, and said pedal base member of the
operational pedal and said support base of the heel-placement
height adjusting device are formed as a unit, whereby the
heel-placement height adjusting device and the operational pedal
are assembled to a vehicle body as a unit.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a driving position adjusting
apparatus for a vehicle which comprises a driver's seat provided on
a floor panel of a vehicle compartment and an operational pedal
operated by a driver seated in the driver's seat.
Conventionally, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication
No. 2009-83781, for example, a driving position adjusting
apparatus, which comprises a seat position adjusting device to
longitudinally move a seat cushion of a driver's seat and a floor
moving mechanism to move up or down a movable floor portion on
which a heel of a driver who is seated in the driver's seat and
operates an operational pedal is placed, wherein the movable floor
portion is moved up according to a forward move of the seat
cushion, is known. In this apparatus, there are provided a pull
cable to transmit a drive force of moving forward the seat cushion
with the seat position adjusting mechanism as a pull force and a
winding-up mechanism to wind up the pull cable. A base end of the
pull cable wound up by the winding-up mechanism is provided to
extend forwardly of a vehicle body and connected to the seat
cushion, whereas a tip of the pull cable is connected to a moving
portion of the floor moving mechanism.
According to the above-described driving position adjusting
apparatus disclosed in the publication, in case the driver's seat
is moved forwardly of the vehicle body with the seat position
adjusting mechanism when the driver is changed from a tall driver
to a short driver, such as a women, for example, the drive force is
transmitted to the moving portion of floor moving mechanism via the
pull cable, and thereby the movable floor portion is pulled up by
the floor moving mechanism. Accordingly, the above-described
driving position adjusting apparatus has an advantage in that the
height position of the above-described movable floor portion can be
automatically adjusted so that even the short driver, who has a
relatively short sole compared to the tall driver, can operate
(press) the operational pedal properly with a driver's foot.
However, in case, as disclosed in the above-described publication,
there are provided a cross member to support a front end portion of
the driver's seat and a floor support member to support the movable
floor portion on a floor bottom portion which is partitioned by a
kick-up portion formed at a front end portion of a vehicle floor,
and a portion of the driver's seat at the driver's foot is
configured to move up over a substantially entire area by sliding a
slide axis of the movable floor portion along a guide groove which
is formed at the floor support portion, there is a problem in that
the size of the above-described movable floor portion and its
moving mechanism would become improperly large and their structures
would be so complex, which may cause an increase of the vehicle
weight and manufacturing costs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been devised in view of the
above-described problem, and an object of the present invention is
to provide a driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle
which enables the driver seated in the driver's seat to properly
operate the operational pedal by adjusting the driving position
properly with a simple structure.
According to the present invention, there is provided a driving
position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle, comprising a driver's
seat provided on a floor panel of a vehicle compartment, an
operational pedal operated by a driver seated in the driver's seat,
an incline-face portion provided on the floor panel, on which a
heel of the driver operating the operational pedal is placed, the
incline-face portion having an upper face which is inclined so that
a front portion thereof is located at a higher position than a rear
portion thereof, and a heel-placement height adjusting device to
adjust a height position of the driver's heel placed on the
incline-face portion at least by moving up or down the incline-face
portion.
According to the present invention, a moving range of the
incline-face portion can be restrained from being improperly large,
and a knee's angle and a sole's inline angle of the driver can be
kept in proper ranges regardless of the body size of the driver
(i.e., for the short driver having a relatively short sole and the
tall driver having a relatively long sole), so that an appropriate
pedal operation can be obtained having the driver's heel properly
placed on the incline-face portion.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the
heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a movable floor
portion which is supported on the floor panel so as to move up or
down and a drive portion which drives the movable floor portion for
moving up or down of the movable floor portion, and the
incline-face portion is arranged on an upper face of the movable
floor portion of the heel-placement height adjusting device.
Thereby, the height position of the driver's heel placement can be
adjusted with the simple structure by moving up or down the movable
floor portion, so that the appropriate pedal operation can be
obtained having the driver's heel properly placed on the
incline-face portion regardless of the driver's body size.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a
longitudinal length and a longitudinal position of the movable
floor portion is set based on a foremost position and a rearmost
position of the driver's heel which is changeable depending on a
body size and a sitting position of the driver seated in the
driver's seat. Thereby, it can be prevented that the size of the
movable floor portion and the drive portion becomes improperly
large which may be caused by the large moving range of the
incline-face portion, ensuring the above-described advantages of
the adjustment of the height position of the driver's heel
placement. Accordingly, the structure can be made simple
effectively.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
operational pedal is an accelerator pedal to control a vehicle
traveling drive source. Thereby, the accelerator pedal which may
require a delicate operation in a state of having the driver's heel
properly placed on the incline-face portion can be operated
properly with the simple structure.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
operational pedal comprises a movable pedal member which is
operated by the driver and a pedal base member which is fixed to
the floor panel, a lower end portion of the movable pedal member
being pivotally supported at the pedal base member. Thereby, the
proper pedal operation can be obtained with the simple
structure.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
heel-placement height adjusting device and the operational pedal
are assembled to a vehicle body as a unit. Thereby, assembling of
the heel-placement height adjusting device and the operational
pedal can be easier.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
operational pedal comprises a movable pedal member which is
operated by the driver and a pedal base member which is fixed to
the floor panel, and the pedal base member and the heel-placement
height adjusting device are formed as a unit. Thereby, assembling
of the operational pedal and the heel-placement height adjusting
device can be easier.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a movable floor
portion which is supported on the floor panel so as to move up or
down and a drive portion which drives the movable floor portion for
moving up or down of the movable floor portion, and the movable
floor portion and the operational pedal are formed as a unit.
Thereby, assembling of the movable floor portion and the
operational pedal can be easier.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, at the
heel-placement height adjusting device is provided a support base
which supports the movable floor portion so that the movable floor
portion moves up or down, and the pedal base member of the
operational pedal is attached to the support base as a unit.
Thereby, assembling of the movable floor portion and the
heel-placement height adjusting device to the vehicle body can be
easy and proper.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
driving position adjusting apparatus further comprises a footrest
provided beside the operational pedal, on which a foot of the
driver is rested, and a footrest adjusting device to adjust a rest
state of the driver's hoot by the footrest according to an
adjustment of the heel-placement height adjusting device. Thereby,
since the rest state of the driver's hoot rested on the footrest
for not operating the operational pedal is adjusted according to
the adjustment of the heel-placement height adjusting device, an
imbalance in a foot angle and the like between the foot operating
the pedal and the foot not operating the operational pedal can be
restrained, so that the driver can be prevented from having
uncomfortable feelings.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
footrest adjusting device adjusts a height position of the driver's
heel rested on the footrest. Thereby, the height position of the
heel placement of the driver's foot rested on the footrest for not
operating the operational pedal can be adjusted, so that the
imbalance in the foot angle and the like between the foot operating
the pedal and the foot not operating the operational pedal can be
restrained.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
footrest adjusting device adjusts an arrangement angle of the
footrest. Thereby, the sole angle of the driver's foot which is
placed on the footrest for not operating the operational pedal can
be adjusted, so that the imbalance in the foot angle between the
foot operating the pedal and the foot not operating the operational
pedal can be restrained.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the
heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a movable floor
portion which is supported on the floor panel so as to move up or
down and a drive portion which drives the movable floor portion for
moving up or down of the movable floor portion, and the footrest
adjusting device is comprised of part of said movable floor portion
and drive portion of the heel-placement height adjusting device.
Thereby, the adjustment of the heel placement of the driver's foot
and the adjustment of the position of the driver's foot not
operating the operational pedal can be conducted concurrently.
According to another embodiment of the present invention the
heel-placement height adjusting device comprises a movable floor
portion which is supported on the floor panel so as to move up or
down and a drive portion which drives the movable floor portion for
moving up or down of the movable floor portion, and the footrest
adjusting device is arranged on the floor panel separately from the
heel-placement height adjusting device. Thereby, the size of the
movable floor portion of the heel-placement height adjusting device
can be prevented from becoming improperly large, so that the
structure can be properly compact.
Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from the following description which refers to
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a first embodiment of a
driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a rear view showing a specific structure of a
heel-placement height adjusting device
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the specific
structure of the heel-placement height adjusting device.
FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a movable
floor portion is moved up.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a specific structure of a seat
adjusting mechanism.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the specific structure of the
seat adjusting mechanism.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG.
6.
FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing a specific structure of an
inclination angle adjusting mechanism.
FIG. 10 is a plan sectional view showing the specific structure of
the inclination angle adjusting mechanism.
FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which a seat cushion is
moved forwardly of a vehicle body.
FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a sitting state of an
average-sized driver.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a heel placement state of
the average-sized driver.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a sitting state of a tall
driver.
FIG. 15 is a side sectional view showing a second embodiment of the
driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 16 is a side sectional view showing a third embodiment of the
driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 17 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the
movable floor portion is moved up, which corresponds to FIG.
16.
FIG. 18 is a side sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of the
driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 19 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the
movable floor portion is moved up, which corresponds to FIG.
18.
FIG. 20 is a rear view showing a specific structure of an adjusting
device of a heel-placement height and a footrest for the driver's
hoot of a fifth embodiment of the driving position adjusting
apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention.
FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.
20.
FIG. 22 is an exploded perspective view showing the specific
structure of the adjusting device of the heel-placement height and
the footrest for the driver's hoot.
FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG. 20.
FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a sitting state of the
driver.
FIG. 25 is a side sectional view showing a sixth embodiment of the
driving position adjusting apparatus for a vehicle according to the
present invention.
FIG. 26 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the
footrest is inclined forwardly, which corresponds to FIG. 25.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described referring to the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIGS. 1-4 show a first embodiment of a driving position adjusting
apparatus for a vehicle according to the present invention. This
vehicle is equipped with a seat adjusting mechanism which comprises
a longitudinal-position adjusting mechanism 2 which adjusts a
longitudinal position of a seat cushion 1a of a driver's seat 1
provided in a vehicle compartment by making the seat cushion 1a
slide longitudinally, and an inclination-angle adjusting mechanism
3 which adjusts an inclination-angle of the seat cushion 1a.
Further, in front of the driver's seat are arranged an accelerator
pedal 4 which is a so-called organ type of pedal having its lower
end portion pivotally supported and operated (pressed down) by a
driver to control a traveling drive source of the vehicle, such as
an engine or motor, and a brake pedal 5 and a clutch pedal 6 which
are a so-called hanging type of pedal having its upper end portion
pivotally supported.
At a front portion of the vehicle compartment are provided a dash
panel 7 which partitions the vehicle compartment from an engine
room, a kick-up panel 8 which extends downwardly and rearwardly
from a lower end of the dash panel 7 in an inclined state, and a
floor panel 9 which extends rearwardly substantially horizontally
from a rear end of the kick-up panel 8. A well-known floor mat 10,
which comprises a back reinforcing material which is mainly made of
material having functions of vibration proof, sound insulation,
heat insulation and so on, such as melt sheet, felt, or glass wool,
and a layer material which covers over an upper face of the
reinforcing material and is made of pile material, is arranged on
an upper face of the floor panel 9.
Herein, an incline-face portion 11 is provided on the floor panel 9
on which a heel of the driver operating the accelerator pedal 4 is
placed. This incline-face portion 11 has an upper face which is
inclined by an inclination angle .alpha. which is within a range of
13.5-23.5 degrees, for example, 20 degrees, relative to a
horizontal line so that a front portion thereof is located at a
higher position than a rear portion thereof. Further, a
heel-placement height adjusting device 12 is provided, which
adjusts a height position of the driver's heel placed on the
incline-face portion 11 at least by moving up or down the
incline-face portion 11.
The accelerator pedal 4 comprises a pedal base member 15 which is
fixed to a support base 13, which will be described below, which
constitutes part of the heel-placement height adjusting device 12,
a movable pedal member 17 which is supported at the pedal base
member 15 so as to swing around a lower-end hinge portion 16
according to a pressing operation of the driver, a biasing member
18 which is comprised of a compressive coil spring or the like to
bias the movable pedal member 17 rearwardly of the vehicle body,
and an accelerator-pedal operation detecting portion which detects
a swinging displacement of the movable pedal member 17 and outputs
its detection signal to a controller, not illustrated.
The movable pedal member 17 of the accelerator pedal 4, which is
made of a synthetic-resin plate member or the like, includes at its
upper portion a pressing portion 20 which has a convex face which
projects rearwardly of the vehicle body having a specified
curvature. The movable pedal member 17 is pressed down by the
driver so as to swing around the lower end hinge 16 in a sate in
which a ball of an operational foot of the driver contacts the
above-described pressing portion 20.
On the back face of the movable pedal member 17 are provided a
projection portion 22 which restricts a forward move of the movable
pedal member 17 by contacting a stopper portion 21 provided at the
upper face of a front upper portion of the base member 15, an
upper-end support portion 23 which supports an upper end portion of
the biasing member 18, a restriction portion 25 which restricts a
rearward move of the movable pedal member 17 by engaging with an
engaging hook portion 24 provided at the upper face of a middle
portion of the base member 15, and a pivotal portion 27 of an
operational rod 26 which constitutes the above-described
accelerator-pedal operation detecting portion.
The base member 15 of the accelerator pedal 4 has a fixing base
plate 28 which is fixed to the support base 13 of the
heel-placement height adjusting device 12 with bolts. Onto the
upper face of the fixing base plate 28 are provided a storage
portion 30 of a control box 29 in which a linear sensor as an
accelerator-pedal operation detecting portion is stored, a
lower-end support portion 31 which supports a lower end portion of
the biasing member 18, and a guide portion 33 which supports a
connection member 32, which is made of a flexible line-shaped
member or the like and coupled to the lower end of the
above-described operational rod 26, so that the connection member
32 can slide.
A coupler 34 which connects a harness, not illustrated, to the
control box 29 is attached to a front face of the storage portion
30 of the control box 29, and the above-described stopper portion
21 which the projection portion 22 of the movable pedal member 17
contacts is formed at the upper face of the storage portion 30 so
as to project upwardly. Further, the above-described engaging hook
portion 24 with which the restriction portion 25 of the movable
pedal member 17 engages is formed in front of the guide portion 33,
and a support bracket 35 which supports the lower end hinge portion
16 of the movable pedal member 17 is formed at a rear end portion
of the fixing base plate 28.
The movable pedal member 17 of the accelerator pedal 4 is supported
at the support bracket 35 of the pedal base member 15 via a pivotal
axis of the lower end hinge portion 16 so that it can be held in
its inclined non-operational position by a biasing force of the
biasing member 18 in a normal state. When a tall driver T with the
a heel Kt of the driver's foot placed on the incline-face portion
11 presses the movable pedal member 17 in a state in which the ball
Bt of the driver's hoot contacts the pressing portion 20 of the
movable pedal member 17, the movable pedal member 17 is driven to
rotate downwardly around the lower end hinge portion 16 against the
biasing force of the biasing member 18 as shown in FIG. 3. This
drive force of the movable pedal member 17 is transmitted to the
liner sensor of the control box 29 via the operational rod 26 and
the connection member 32. Thereby, an operational amount of the
movable pedal portion 17 is detected, and then its detection signal
is outputted from the control box 29 to an engine control unit and
the like via the coupler 34 and the harness, not illustrated.
The heel-placement height adjusting device 12 comprises, as shown
in FIG. 4, the support base 13 which is fixed onto the floor panel
9 in front of the driver's seat 1, a movable floor portion 36 which
is supported at the support base 13 so as to move up or down, and a
drive portion 37 which drives the movable floor portion 36.
Further, a fan-shaped portion 38 is formed at a left-side portion
of the support base 13. This fan-shaped portion 38 has a one fourth
corn shape as shown in FIG. 4.
The movable floor portion 36 comprises a pair of side plates 39
which has a trapezoidal shape in a side view, a front-face plate 40
which covers front face portions of the side plates 39, and an
upper-face plate 41 which connects upper face portions of the side
plates 39. The upper-face place 41 forms the above-described
incline-face portion 11.
Further, a screw shaft 44 is supported at the support base 13 so as
to rotate, and a guide bar 45 is provided at the support base 13 so
as to project upwardly. The screw shaft 44 is inserted into a screw
hole which is formed at one (i.e., a projection 42) of projections
42, 43 which are formed at both-side portions of the front-face
plate 40, whereas the guide bar 45 is inserted into a through hole
which is formed at the other projection (i.e., the projection
43).
The above-described drive portion 37 comprises a worm wheel 46
which is fixed to the screw shaft 44 and a drive motor 48 which is
equipped with a worm gear 47 for driving the worm wheel 46 at its
output shaft. Herein, when the driver seated in the driver's seat 1
adjusts the longitudinal position of the driver's seat 1 depending
on the driver's body size, the drive motor 48 is driven according
to the operation of the above-described seat position adjusting
mechanism, so that the worm wheel 46 and the screw shaft 44 are
rotated, thereby the movable floor portion 36 is moved up from its
lower position shown in FIG. 3 to its upper position shown in FIG.
5.
The longitudinal length of the heel-placement height adjusting
device 12 from the front end position 36a to the rear end position
36b is set based on a foremost position and a rear most position of
the driver's heel which may move depending on the body size or the
sitting position of the driver seated in the driver's seat 1. That
is, the front end position 36a of the movable floor portion 36 is
set based on the position of the heel of the short driver S, and
the rear end position 36b of the movable floor portion 36 seated in
the driver's seat 1 is set based on the position of the heel of the
tall driver S seated in the driver's seat 1.
For example, in case the distance from the heel Ks to the ball Bs
of the foot of the short driver S is 155 mm and the ball Bs is made
contact a pressing center 20a of the accelerator pedal 4 with the
sole angle .theta.7 set at about 52 degrees, the heel Ks of the
short driver S will be positioned about 95 mm (nearly equal to 155
mm.times.cos 52.degree.) rearwardly from the pressing center 20a.
Accordingly, the front end position 36a of the movable floor
portion 36 is set at a location which is about 65 mm rearwardly
from the pressing center 20a, having a specified margin.
Further, in case the distance from the heel Kt to the ball Bt of
the foot of the tall driver T is 196 mm and the ball Bt is made
contact the pressing center 20a of the accelerator pedal 4 with the
sole angle .theta.7 set at about 52 degrees, the heel Kt of the
tall driver T will be positioned about 121 mm (nearly equal to 196
mm.times.cos 52.degree.) rearwardly from the pressing center 20a.
Accordingly, the rear end position 36b of the movable floor portion
36 is set at a location which is about 155 mm rearwardly from the
pressing center 20a, having a specified margin. Thus, in case the
front end position 36a and rear end position 36b are set as
described above, the longitudinal length of the movable floor
portion 36 will be about 90 mm
Herein, the both-side position and the width of the movable floor
portion 36 is set properly based on the arrangement position of the
accelerator pedal 4 and brake pedal 5 and the like so that the
accelerator pedal 4 can be properly operated and also a smooth
operation transmission from the operation of the accelerator pedal
4 to the operation of the brake pedal 5 can be obtained. For
example, as shown in FIG. 2, the right end portion of the movable
floor portion 36 which constitutes the incline-face portion 11 is
positioned on the left side of and away from the right end portion
of the accelerator pedal 4 by a specified distance, and the left
end portion of the movable floor portion 36 is arranged at a
position which corresponds to the left end portion of the brake
pedal 5.
Herein, the heel-placement height adjusting device 12 which
comprises the support base 13, movable floor portion 36, drive
portion 37 and others and the pedal base member 15 of the
accelerator pedal 4 which comprises the members 15, 17 and others
may be attached to the vehicle body as a unit, by sub-assembling
these in advance.
As shown in FIGS. 6 through 8, a pair of seat-slide lower rails 61
which supports the seat cushion 1a so that the seat cushion 1a can
move longitudinally is provided at the disposition portion of the
driver's seat 1, and a pair of seat-slide upper rails 62 is
provided so as to slide along the seat-slide lower rails 61. The
seat-slide lower rails 61 is made of a C-type steel member or the
like which has an opening on the top thereof, and attaching
brackets 63, 64 are fixed to their both longitudinal ends by
welding or the like. These brackets 63, 64 are fixed to an upper
face of a cross member 60 and the like by fastening bolts or the
like, so that the seat-slide lower rails 61 is disposed on the
vehicle floor 9 in a inclined state in which the level of its front
portion is slightly higher.
As shown in FIG. 8, a thread rotational shaft 65 is disposed inside
each of the seat-slide lower rails 61, and a pair of drive shafts
67 which is rotated by a drive motor 66 and a support member 68
which supports the drive shafts 67 are provided respectively so as
to extend in a vehicle width direction between both front ends of
the seat-slide upper rails 62. At both-side end portions of the
drive shafts 67 are provided drive-force transmitting portions 69
which transmit a drive force to the rotational shafts 65 via a
mechanism which comprises bevel gears or worm gears.
The above-described seat-slide lower rails 61, seat-slide upper
rails 62, rotational shaft 65, drive motor 66, drive shaft 67 and
drive-force transmitting portion 69, and a pair of nut blocks 61a
which is fixed to respective bottoms of the seat-slide lower rails
61 and engages with the respective rotational shaft 65 constitute
the longitudinal-position adjusting mechanism 2.
For example, when a longitudinal adjusting switch, not illustrated,
is operated for a forward moving, a control signal to rotate the
drive motor 66 in its normal direction is outputted and the diver
motor 66 is rotated in the normal direction by this control signal.
Thereby, the drive force for moving the seat cushion 1a forwardly
is transmitted to the drive shafts 67, drive-force transmitting
portions 69, and rotational shafts 65. The rotational shafts 65 are
rotated by the drive force inputted via the drive-force
transmitting portions 69 in the state in which these shafts 65 are
supported at the nut blocks 61a which are fixed to the bottom
portions of the seat-slide lower rails 61, so that the rotational
shafts 65 proceed forwardly. Consequently, the seat-slide upper
rails 62 and thereby the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1 are
moved forwardly.
Meanwhile, when the longitudinal adjusting switch is operated for a
rearward moving, a control signal to rotate the drive motor 66 in
its reverse direction is outputted and the diver motor 66 is
rotated in the reverse direction by this control signal. Thereby,
the drive force for moving the seat cushion 1a rearwardly is
transmitted to the drive shafts 67, drive-force transmitting
portions 69, and rotational shafts 65. The rotational shafts 65 are
rotated by the drive force, so that the rotational shafts 65
proceed rearwardly. Consequently, the seat-slide upper rails 62 and
thereby the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1 are moved
rearwardly.
Further, since the seat-slide lower rails 61 is disposed on the
vehicle floor 9 in the inclined state in which the level of its
front portion is slightly higher, the seat cushion 1a is pushed
upwardly as the seat-slide upper rails 62 and the seat cushion 1a
of the driver's seat 1 move forwardly along the seat-slide lower
rails 61. On the contrary, the seat cushion 1a is lowered as the
seat-slide upper rails 62 and the seat cushion 1a of the driver's
seat 1 move rearwardly along the seat-slide lower rails 61.
Moreover, at each of the seat-slide upper rails 62 is provided the
inclination-angle adjusting mechanism 3 which adjusts the
inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1.
The inclination-angle adjusting mechanism 3, as shown in FIGS. 6
and 7, comprises a cushion frame 71 which is provided at a side
portion of the seat cushion 1a, a front bracket 72 and a front link
73 which are provided on a front upper face of the seat-slide upper
rail 62 and supports a front end of the cushion frame 71, a rear
bracket 74 and a triangular-shaped rear link 75 which are provided
on a rear upper face of the seat-slide upper rail 62 and supports a
rear portion of the cushion frame 71, a connecting shaft 76 which
interconnects rear end portions of the both-side rear links 75 and
rear end portions of the both-side cushion frames 71, a center link
77 which transmits a drive force to the rear link 75 and a center
bracket 78 which is provided on a central upper face of the
seat-slide upper rail 62 and supports this center link 77, a
connecting link 79 which connects an upper portion of the central
link 77 to a front end of the rear link 75, a drive shaft 80 which
will be described below, and a drive lever 81 and an inclination
drive portion 82.
The central link 77 is fixed to the drive shaft 80 which extends in
the vehicle width direction at its end portion, and this link 77 is
rotatably supported at the central bracket 78 via the drive shaft
80. The drive lever 81 which rotates the drive shaft 80 is fixed to
the drive shaft 80. Herein, the above-described inclination drive
portion 82 which drives this drive lever 81 is provided at the
central bracket 78 which is fixed to either one of the seat-slide
upper rails 62 (one on the outward side).
The inclination drive portion 82 comprises, as shown in FIGS. 9 and
10, a screw shaft 84 which is connected to a tip (lower end) of the
drive lever 81 via a connecting pin 83 at its front end, a drive
motor 85 to rotate the screw shaft 84 and a gear mechanism 86, and
a guide bracket 87 which is fixed to a front face of the gear
mechanism 86 and a base end of which is supported at the central
bracket 78 via a support bracket 88. Further, the gear mechanism 86
comprises a worm gear 89 which is fixed to an output shaft 85a of
the drive motor 85 and a worm nut 80 which is rotated by the worm
gear 89. The worm nut 90 has a screw hole formed thereat which the
screw shaft 84 engages with.
Herein, as the worm nut 90 is rotated by the drive force which is
inputted from the drive motor 85 via the worm gear 89, the screw
shaft 84 is rotated. Thereby, the connecting pin 83 at the tip of
the screw shaft 84 moves longitudinally along a support groove 91
which is formed at the guide bracket 87, and the drive force is
transmitted to the drive lever 81 via the connecting pin 83.
Accordingly, the drive lever 81 swings and thereby the drive shaft
80 is rotated.
Further, the central link 77 swings according to the rotation of
the drive shaft 80, and the rotational drive force is transmitted
to the rear link 75 via the connecting link 79. As the rear link 75
swings, the front link 73 also swings. Consequently, the
inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a can be adjusted. That is,
when the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1 moves to its rear
position, as shown in FIG. 6, the front link 73 and the central
link 77 take a their rearward slant positions and the connecting
shaft 76 which is provided at the rear end of the rear link 75
takes its lower position. Consequently, a sitting face of the seat
cushion 1a is held in its slant state in which it rear portion
lowers greatly.
According to the above-described structure, when the forward moving
operation of the driver's seat 1 with the longitudinal adjusting
switch is conducted, the control signal for rotating the drive
motor 85 of the inclination-angle adjusting mechanism 3 in the
normal direction is outputted from the controller, not illustrated,
based on preset drive characteristics. The driving force of the
normal-direction rotation of the drive motor 85 is transmitted to
the central link 77 via the gear mechanism 86, screw shaft 84,
connecting pin 83, drive lever 81 and drive shaft 80, and thereby
the central link 77 changes its position from the rearward slant
state to its standing state which is shown in FIG. 11. According to
this position change of the central link 77 to the standing state,
the drive force is transmitted to the rear link 75 via the
connecting link 79, and the front end of the rear link 75 is pulled
forwardly. Accordingly, the connecting shaft 76 which is provided
at the rear end of the rear link 75 rises up, so that the rear end
portion of the seat cushion 1a is pushed upwardly.
Further, since the front link 73 moves from its rearward slant
state to its standing state according to the swing move of the rear
link 75, the seat cushion 1a moves in such a manner that its front
end portion rises and moves forwardly, so that the seat cushion 1a
moves from the lower position to the upper position shown in FIG.
11. Herein, since the upper move quantity of the rear end portion
of the seat cushion 1a is set to be greater than that of the front
end portion of the seat cushion 1a, the seat cushion 1a moves so as
to approach a horizontal state gradually. Depending on this move of
the seat cushion 1a, the seat back 1b moves so as to approach its
upright position.
Meanwhile, when the rearward moving operation of the driver's seat
1 with the longitudinal adjusting switch is conducted, the control
signal for rotating the drive motor 85 of the inclination-angle
adjusting mechanism 3 in the reverse direction is outputted from
the controller, not illustrated, based on preset drive
characteristics. The driving force of the reverse-direction
rotation of the drive motor 85 is transmitted to the central link
77 via the gear mechanism 86, screw shaft 84, connecting pin 83,
drive lever 81 and drive shaft 80. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6,
the seat cushion 1a changes from the upper position to the lower
position. Herein, the drive characteristics are set in such a
manner that the rearward inclination angle of the sitting face of
the seat cushion 1a increases and the seat back 1b slants rearward
greatly depending on the lowering of the seat cushion 1a.
Herein, if the driver seated in the driver's seat 1 changes to a
different driver having a different height, the eye point of the
driver seated, operational functions for the operational pedals and
the like may change because the driver's sitting height, the length
of the driver's arm, the length of the driver's leg and the like
change as well. Therefore, the new driver may try to operate the
longitudinal-position adjusting mechanism 2 and the
inclination-angle adjusting mechanism 3 to adjust the driver's
position so that the driver can holds a steering wheel 92 in the
properly comfortable position, make the ball of the driver's foot
properly contact the pressing portion 20 of the movable pedal
member 17 of the accelerator pedal 4, and the clear front view of
the driver can be ensured by matching the driver's eye point to an
appropriate line L.
The drivers with the height within the range of 150 to 190 cm may
be seated in the driver's seat 1, so it is necessary that any
driver can be seated in the seat 1 having the comfortable sitting
position and conduct the driving operation properly. Herein, the
height of the average-sized driver M may be considered as 170 cm,
for example, so that the statistical analysis on comfortable
(appropriate) position for the average-sized driver M with the
height of 170 cm was conducted, and the results below were
obtained.
Herein, the comfortable position of the driver seated in the
driver's seat 1 means a sitting position which can make the driver
keep the sitting state for a long period of time and also suit for
operating the steering wheel, pedals and so on. Specifically, as
shown in FIG. 12, the angle of ankle .theta.1 is about 85 to 95
degrees, the angle of knee .theta.2 is about 115 to 135 degrees,
and the bending angle .theta.4 between the upper half body and the
thigh portion is about 95 degrees. Further, it has been recognized
from the human-technology tests that the appropriate angle of the
thigh angle .theta.3 relative the horizontal line for the
average-sized driver M is an angle which is obtained by adding
about 1.5 degrees to the inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a.
Further, the elbow angle .theta.5 which can provide the proper
operation of steering wheel 92 is about 100 to 130 degrees, and the
armpit portion angle .theta.6 is about 20 to 45 degrees.
Accordingly, the longitudinal standard position and the vertical
standard position of the seat cushion 1a are set so that when the
above-described average-sized driver M is seated in the driver's
seat in a state, for example, in which the ankle angle .theta.1 is
90 degrees, the knee angle .theta.2 is 125 degrees, the bending
angle .theta.4 between the upper half body and the thigh portion is
degrees, and the thigh angle .theta.3 is 17 degrees, the eye point
Im of the average-sized driver M can be made match the appropriate
line L which has the inclination angle of 8 degrees.
According to the above-described standard sitting state of the
average-sized driver M, the elbow angle .theta.5 and the armpit
portion angle .theta.6 are set within the above-described
respective ranges so that the driver can hold the steering wheel 92
properly. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the accelerator pedal 4 is
disposed at an appropriate position of the pressing portion 20 of
the movable pedal member 17 of the accelerator pedal 4, that is, at
a position which can make the ball of the hoot Bm of the driver's
hoot contact the central position of the pressing portion 20, in a
state in which a heel's lower end Km of the driver's foot on the
pedal is placed at a specified position on the incline-face portion
11 of the above-described upper-face plate 41, the ankle angle
.theta.1 is set at 90 degrees, and the inclination angle .theta.7
of the sole relative to the horizontal line is set at about 52
degrees.
In FIG. 12, a reference character Hm denotes the hip point (sitting
standard point) of the average-sized driver M seated in the
driver's seat 1. Further, according to the present embodiment, as
shown in FIG. 13, the standard disposition position of the heel's
lower end Km of the average-sized driver M is set to a specified
position on the upper-face plate 41 of the movable floor portion 36
which is located in its middle height position, for example. That
is, the movable floor portion 36 is disposed so that the heel's
lower end Km of the average-sized driver M can be placed at a
central position (standard position) on the upper-face plate 41 in
the longitudinal direction when the movable floor portion 36 is
located in its middle height position.
Since the length of the sole of the average-sized driver M is about
255 mm and the distance from the heel's lower end Km to the ball of
the hoot Bm is about 176 mm, a vertical distance Ym from the
standard placement position of the heel's lower end Km to the
pressing portion 20 of the movable pedal member 17 is about 139 mm
(nearly equal to 176 mm.times.sin 52.degree.). Meanwhile, a
horizontal distance Xm from the heel's lower end Km to the pressing
portion 20 of the movable pedal member 17 is about 108 mm (nearly
equal to 176 mm.times.cos 52.degree.).
Herein, when the driver seated in the driver's seat 1 changes from
the average-sized driver M to the tall driver T with the height of
190 cm, for example, as shown in FIG. 14, the tall driver T
operates some adjusting switches, not illustrated, so as to move
the hip point Ht on the seat cushion 1a rearwardly about 85 mm from
the longitudinal standard position Hm of the average-sized driver M
and downwardly about 20 mm, and to change the inclination angle of
the seat cushion 1a so that the thigh angle .theta.3 can become
about 20.0 degrees.
As a result, the upper half body of the tall driver T who has a
longer arm than that of the average-sized driver M is moved
rearwardly so that the steering wheel 92 can be held in the
appropriate position, and the eye point It of the tall driver T who
has a longer sitting height than that of the average-sized driver M
is moved downwardly and rearwardly so that the eye point It can
match the appropriate line L. Herein, in case of providing a
telescopic and tilt mechanism to adjust the disposition position
and angle of the steering wheel 92, the tall driver T may hold the
steering wheel 92 properly keeping the above-described comfortable
position, without changing the elbow angle .theta.5 and the armpit
portion angle .theta.6 greatly.
Moreover, there is a tendency that the sole of the pedal-operating
foot of the tall driver T rotates clockwise around the ball of the
foot Bt in accordance with the downward and rearward move of the
seat cushion 1a. Therefore, by moving down the movable floor
portion 36 and decreasing the knee angle .theta.2 to about 120
degrees accordingly, the ankle angle .theta.1 of the
pedal-operating foot can be maintained at 90 degrees, the
inclination angle .theta.7 of the sole can be kept at about 52
degrees, and the ball of the foot Bt of the tall driver T can be
made contact the pressing portion 20 of the accelerator pedal
4.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, since the length of the sole of
the tall driver T is about 285 mm and the distance from the heel's
lower end Km to the ball of the foot Bm is about 198 mm, a vertical
distance Yt from the placement position of the heel's lower end Km
of the tall driver T to the pressing center 20a of the movable
pedal member 17 is about 156 mm (nearly equal to 198 mm.times.sin
52.degree.), which is about 17 mm longer than the vertical distance
Ym (139 mm) of the average-sized driver M. Thus, the heel-placement
height position of the tall driver T is located about 17 mm below
that of the average-sized driver M. Meanwhile, a horizontal
distance Xt from the heel's lower end Kt of the tall driver T to
the pressing center 20a of the movable pedal member 17 is about 122
mm (nearly equal to 198 mm.times.cos 52.degree.), which is about 14
mm longer than the horizontal distance Xm (108 mm) of the
average-sized driver M.
As described above, there is a difference of about 17 mm in the
heel-placement height position between the tall driver T and the
average-sized driver M, and there is a difference of about 14 mm in
the heel-placement longitudinal position between the tall driver T
and the average-sized driver M. Accordingly, in order that the tall
driver T makes the ball portion Bt of the pedal-operating foot
contact the appropriate position of the pressing center 20a in the
state in which the heel's lower end Kt is properly placed on the
movable floor portion 36, it is necessary that the position of the
movable floor portion 36 is lowered by about 12 mm (nearly equal to
17 mm-5 mm) based on the height-position difference of the heel's
lower end: 17 mm and a vertical difference corresponding to the
longitudinal-position difference of the heel's lower end: -5 mm
(nearly equal to -14 mm.times.tan 20.degree.).
That is, according to the present embodiment with the inclination
angle of the incline-face portion 11 set at 20 degrees, the movable
floor portion 36 is moved down to near the lowermost position which
is about 12 mm below the above-described standard position, so that
the mount of moving up the movable floor portion 36 can be almost
zero. Thus, by positioning the movable floor portion 36 at the
height position which is about 12 mm below the standard position of
the average-sized driver M, the tall driver T can properly operate
the operational pedal in the state in which the heel's lower end Kt
is placed on the movable floor portion 36 and the ball of the hoot
Bt contacts the pressing center 20a of the accelerator pedal 4.
Meanwhile, when the driver seated in the driver's seat 1 changes
from the average-sized driver M to the short driver S, such as an
woman driver having the height of 150 cm, as shown in FIG. 1, this
short driver S operates some adjusting switches, not illustrated,
so as to move the hip point Hs on the seat cushion 1a forwardly
about 105 mm from the longitudinal standard position Hm of the
average-sized driver M and upwardly about 25 mm, and to change the
inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a so that the thigh angle
.theta.3 can become about 10.5 degrees.
As a result, the upper half body of the short driver S who has a
shorter arm than that of the average-sized driver M is moved
forwardly, so that the eye point Is of the short driver S who has a
shorter sitting height than that of the average-sized driver M is
moved upwardly and forwardly so that the eye point Is can match the
appropriate line L. Further, by changing the elbow angle .theta.5
and the armpit portion angle .theta.6 properly or changing the
height position and angle of the steering wheel 92 with the
operation of the telescopic and tilt mechanism, not illustrated,
the short driver S can hold the steering wheel 92 in the proper
state.
Moreover, there is a tendency that the sole of the pedal-operating
foot of the short driver S rotates counterclockwise around the ball
of the foot Bs in accordance with the upwardly and forwardly move
of the seat cushion 1a. Therefore, by moving up the movable floor
portion 36 and increasing the knee angle .theta.2 to about 130
degrees accordingly, the ankle angle .theta.1 of the
pedal-operating foot can be maintained at 90 degrees, the
inclination angle .theta.7 of the sole can be kept at the proper
angle (52 degrees), and the ball of the foot Bs of the short driver
S can be made contact the pressing center 20a of the accelerator
pedal 4.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, since the length of the sole of
the short driver S is about 225 mm and the distance from the heel's
lower end Ks to the ball of the foot Bs is about 155 mm, a vertical
distance Ys from the placement position of the heel's lower end Ks
of the short driver S to the pressing center 20a of the movable
pedal member 17 is about 122 mm (nearly equal to 155 mm.times.sin
52.degree.), which is about 17 mm shorter than the vertical
distance Ym (139 mm) of the average-sized driver M. Thus, the
heel-placement height position of the short driver S is located
about 17 mm above that of the average-sized driver M. Meanwhile, a
horizontal distance Xs from the heel's lower end Ks of the short
driver S to the pressing center 20a of the movable pedal member 17
is about 95 mm (nearly equal to 155 mm.times.cos 52.degree.), which
is about 13 mm shorter than the horizontal distance Xm (108 mm) of
the average-sized driver M.
There is a difference of about 17 mm in the heel-placement height
position between the short driver S and the average-sized driver M,
and there is a difference of about 13 mm in the heel-placement
longitudinal position between the short driver S and the
average-sized driver M. Accordingly, in order that the short driver
S makes the ball portion Bs of the pedal-operating foot contact the
appropriate position of the pressing center 20a in the state in
which the heel's lower end Ks is properly placed on the movable
floor portion 36, it is necessary that the position of the movable
floor portion 36 is move up by about 13 mm (nearly equal to 17 mm-4
mm) based on the height-position difference of the heel's lower
end: 17 mm and a vertical difference corresponding to the
longitudinal-position difference of the heel's lower end: -4 mm
(nearly equal to -13 mm.times.tan 20.degree.).
That is, according to the present embodiment with the inclination
angle of the incline-face portion 11 set at 20 degrees, the movable
floor portion 36 is moved up closely to the uppermost position
which is about 13 mm above the above-described standard position,
so that the mount of moving up the movable floor portion 36 from
the lowermost position can be almost 25 mm. Thus, by positioning
the movable floor portion 36 at the height position which is about
13 mm above the standard position of the average-sized driver M,
the short driver S can properly operate the operational pedal in
the state in which the heel's lower end Ks is placed on the movable
floor portion 36 and the ball of the hoot Bs contacts the pressing
center 20a of the accelerator pedal 4.
As described above, there is provided the driving position
adjusting apparatus for a vehicle, comprising the driver's seat 1
which is provided on the floor panel 9 of the vehicle compartment,
the operational pedal, such as the accelerator pedal 4, which is
operated by the driver seated in the driver' seat 1, the
incline-face portion 11 which is provided on the floor panel 9, on
which the heel of the driver operating the operational pedal is
placed, the incline-face portion 11 having the upper face which is
inclined so that its front portion is located at the higher
position than its rear portion, and the heel-placement height
adjusting device 12 which adjusts the height position of the
driver's heel placed on the incline-face portion 11 at least by
moving up or down the incline-face portion 11. Thereby, the moving
range of the incline-face portion 11 can be restrained from being
improperly large, and the knee's angle and the sole's inline angle
of the driver can be kept in proper ranges regardless of the body
size of the driver, i.e., the short driver S with a relatively
short sole or the tall driver with a relatively long sole, so that
the appropriate pedal operation can be obtained having the driver's
heel properly placed on the incline-face portion.
That is, as described in the first embodiment, when the
heel-placement position of the short driver S is positioned about
13 mm forwardly from that of the average-sized driver M and the
incline-face portion 11 is inclined by about 20 degrees, the amount
of moving up the incline-face portion 11 can be decreased by about
4 mm (nearly equal to 13 mm.times.tan 20.degree.), compared with a
case in which the heel-placement area is formed horizontally.
Meanwhile, when the heel-placement position of the tall driver T is
positioned about 14 mm rearwardly from that of the average-sized
driver M, the amount of moving down the incline-face portion 11 can
be decreased by about 5 mm (nearly equal to 14 mm.times.tan
20.degree.), compared with the case in which the heel-placement
area is formed horizontally.
Further, since the incline-face portion 11 having the upper face
which is inclined so that its front portion is located at the
higher position than its rear portion, the heel of the
pedal-operating foot can be prevented from moving forwardly by this
inclination of the incline-face portion 11 at a vehicle frontal
collision. Accordingly, the safety of the driver can be properly
improved.
Herein, if the inclination angle .alpha. of the upper face of the
incline-face portion 11 is greater than 23.5 degrees, there is a
tendency that the heel's lower end of the pedal-operating foot
placed on the inline-face portion 11 slips down rearwardly due to a
reaction force which may occur during the pedal operation.
Therefore, it is preferable that the above-described inclination
angle .alpha. be set at an angle of 23.5 degrees ore smaller so
that a stable placement of the heel's lower end. On the other hand,
if the inclination angle .alpha. of the upper face of the
incline-face portion 11 is smaller than 13.5 degrees, the
above-described effect that the moving range of the movable floor
portion 36 can be restrained from being improperly large may be
deteriorated. Therefore, it is preferable that the inclination
angle .alpha. be set at an angle of 13.5 degrees or greater.
Further, according to the first embodiment, the heel-placement
height adjusting device 12 comprises the movable floor portion 36
which is supported on the floor panel 9 so as to move up or down,
and the drive portion 37 which drives the movable floor portion 36
for moving up or down of the movable floor portion 36, and the
incline-face portion 11 is arranged on the upper face of the
movable floor portion 36. Thereby, the height position of the
driver's heel placement can be adjusted with the simple structure
by moving up or down the movable floor portion 36, so that the
appropriate pedal operation can be obtained regardless of the
driver's body size, i.e., the short driver S with the shorter
sole's length, or the tall driver T with the longer sole's length
compared with the average-sized driver M.
Moreover, as shown in the first embodiment, the longitudinal length
and the longitudinal position of the movable floor portion 36 is
set based on the foremost position and the rearmost position of the
driver's heel which is changeable depending on the body size and
the sitting position of the driver seated in the driver's seat 1,
i.e., the tall driver T or the short driver S. Thereby, it can be
prevented that the size of the movable floor portion 36 and the
drive portion 37 becomes improperly large which may be caused by
the large moving range of the incline-face portion 11, ensuring the
above-described advantages of the adjustment of the height position
of the driver's heel placement. Accordingly, the structure can be
made simple effectively.
For example, since in the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the
rear-end position 36b of the movable floor portion 36 is located at
the position which is 155 mm rearward from the pressing center 20a
of the accelerator pedal 4, the tall driver T with the height of
190 cm can operate (press) the accelerator pedal 4 with the ball of
the pedal-operating foot Bt contacting the pressing portion 20 of
the accelerator pedal 4 in a state in which the sole angle .theta.7
is set at about 55 degrees and the heel's lower end Kt is placed at
a position which is forward from the rear-end position 36b (see
FIG. 3).
Meanwhile, by locating the front-end position 36a of the movable
floor portion 36 at the position which is 65 mm rearward from the
pressing center 20a of the accelerator pedal 4 as shown in the
first embodiment, the short driver S with the height of 150 cm can
operate (press) the accelerator pedal 4 with the ball of the
pedal-operating foot Bs contacting the pressing portion 20 of the
accelerator pedal 4 in a state in which the sole angle .theta.7 is
set at about 49 degrees and the heel's lower end Ks is placed at a
position which is rearward from the front-end position of the
inline-face portion 11 (see FIG. 5).
Also, by setting the front-end position 36a and the rear-end
position 36b of the movable floor portion 36 as shown in the first
embodiment, in case the longitudinal length of the movable floor
portion 36 is set at bout 90 mm, the movable floor portion 36 can
be easily moved up or down without making the size of the movable
floor portion and its drive mechanism improperly large or making
their structures too complex. Accordingly, the vehicle weight can
be decreased effectively and the manufacturing costs of the driving
position adjusting apparatus of a vehicle can be suppressed
properly.
According to the first embodiment, the operational pedal is the
accelerator pedal 4 to control a vehicle traveling drive source.
Thereby, the accelerator pedal 4 which may require a delicate
operation in a state of having the driver's heel properly placed on
the incline-face portion 11 can be operated properly with the
simple structure.
Further, the organ type of accelerator pedal 4 comprises the
movable pedal member 17 which is operated by the driver and the
pedal base member 15 which is fixed to the floor panel 9, and the
lower end portion of the movable pedal member 17 is pivotally
supported at the pedal base member 15. Thereby, the proper
operation of the accelerator pedal 4 can be obtained with the
simple structure.
Moreover, since the heel-placement height adjusting device 12 and
the operational pedal of the accelerator pedal 4, are assembled to
the vehicle body as a unit, assembling of the heel-placement height
adjusting device 12 and the operational pedal can be easier as well
as ensuring the proper operation of the operational pedal.
That is, since the operational pedal of the organ type of
accelerator pedal 4 of the first embodiment comprises the movable
pedal member 17 which is operated by the driver and the pedal base
member 15 which is fixed to the floor panel 9 via the support base
13, and the pedal base member 15 and the heel-placement height
adjusting device 12 are formed as a unit, the operational pedal of
the accelerator pedal 4 and the heel-placement height adjusting
device 12 are sub-assembled and then can be assembled to the
vehicle body easily.
Also, since the heel-placement height adjusting device 12 of the
first embodiment comprises the movable floor portion 36 which is
supported on the floor panel 9 so as to move up or down and the
drive portion 37 which drives the movable floor portion 36 for
moving up or down of the movable floor portion 36, and the movable
floor portion 36 and the operational pedal of the accelerator pedal
4 are formed as a unit, assembling of the movable floor portion and
the operational pedal can be easier.
In particular, since at the heel-placement height adjusting device
12 is provided the support base 13 which supports the movable floor
portion 36 so that the movable floor portion 36 moves up or down,
and the pedal base member 15 of the operational pedal is attached
to the support base 13 as a unit as shown in the first embodiment,
the movable floor portion 36 and the operational pedal are
sub-assembled, and then the support base 13 can be assembled to the
floor panel 9 easily and properly.
Further, since the movable pedal member 17 of the accelerator pedal
4 includes the pressing portion 20 which has the convex face which
projects rearwardly of the vehicle, which the ball of the
operational foot of the driver (Bm, for example) contacts the
driver's pedal pressing in the first embodiment, even in case the
driver presses the accelerator pedal 4 in a state in which the
heel's lower end of the driver's hoot (Km, for example) is placed
at a specified position which is located rearwardly from the
support point (lower-end hinge portion 16) of the movable pedal
member 17 so that the contact point of the driver's heel with the
pressing portion 20 moves vertically in accordance with the pedal
pressing, the driver can be effectively prevented from having
uncomfortable feelings.
In this case, if the pressing portion of the movable pedal member
17 is formed linearly or in a curve shape with projecting forwardly
so as to match the curve of the back face of the driver's shoe, the
contact of the back face of the driver's shoe with the pressing
portion may be a face contact and the contact point of the back
face of the driver's shoe with the pedal pressing face may move
forwardly intermittently with slips as the pressing amount of the
movable pedal member 17 increases, so that the driver could feel
this move too sensitively and thereby have uncomfortable
feelings.
According to the first embodiment, however, since the pressing
portion 20 of the movable pedal member 17 is comprised of the
arc-shaped convex face projecting rearwardly, the back face of the
driver's shoe is made contact a point (pressing center point 20a,
for example) of the convex face of the pressing portion 20 with a
line contact. Accordingly, even in case the tall driver T and
others press the accelerator pedal in a state in which the heel's
lower end Kt of the driver's hoot is placed at the specified
position which is located rearwardly from the rear support point of
the movable pedal member 17, the contact position of the back face
of the driver's shoe with the pressing portion 20 can change
smoothly and continuously according to the pressing of the
accelerator pedal 4, so that the driver can be effectively
prevented from having the uncomfortable feelings. Herein, in order
to make the contact position of the back face of the driver's shoe
with the pressing portion 20 change smoothly and continuously as
described above, it is preferable that the curvature radius of the
arc-shaped convex face of the pressing portion 20 be set at a value
within a range of 120-200 mm, and the most preferable value may be
150 mm
Further, since the first embodiment comprises the seat adjusting
mechanism which comprises the longitudinal-position adjusting
mechanism 2 and the inclination-angle adjusting mechanism 3, which
moves the driver's seat 1 in the longitudinal direction and reduces
the rearward inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a of the
driver's seat 1 in accordance with the forward move of the driver's
seat 1, the longitudinal position of the driver's seat 1 and the
inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a is automatically adjusted
so that the driver can keep its proper sitting position regardless
of the body size, matching the driver's eye point to the
appropriate line L, and get the superior handle and pedal
operations.
Further, in case the driver seated in the driver's seat 1 operates
the heel-placement height adjusting device 12 in accordance with
the operation of adjusting the longitudinal position of the
driver's seat 1 and the inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a,
the height position of the heel placement of the driver can be
automatically adjusted so that the pedal operation with the ball of
the driver's hoot contacting the pressing portion 20 of the
accelerator pedal 4 can be ensured, maintaining the proper angles
of the ankle's angle .theta.1 and the sole's inclination angle
.theta.7 for the pedal operation in a state in which the heel of
the driver's hoot is placed on the incline-face portion 11
regardless of the body size of the driver.
Herein, while the driver's seat 1 is automatically moved
longitudinally by the longitudinal-position adjusting mechanism 2
according to the switch operation by the driver and the inclination
angle of the seat cushion 1a is reduced according to the forward
move of the driver's seat 1 in the above-described first
embodiment, the longitudinal position of the driver's seat 1 and
the inclination angle of the seat cushion 1a may be adjusted with a
manual operation of the driver.
Embodiment 2
FIG. 15 shows a second embodiment of the driving position adjusting
apparatus of the present invention.
While the present invention is applied to the organ type of
accelerator pedal 4 in the above-described first embodiment, a
hanging type of accelerator pedal 4' which is supported at an
upper-end pivotal point 4a which is provided at the dash panel 7
may be used as the second embodiment as shown in FIG. 15. In a
vehicle equipped with this hanging type of accelerator pedal 4', it
is unnecessary to support the accelerator pedal 4 at the support
base 13 which supports the movable floor portion 36. Accordingly,
the structure can be simpler.
Embodiment 3
FIGS. 16 and 17 show a third embodiment of the driving position
adjusting apparatus of the present invention.
In the third embodiment, the movable floor portion 36 which has the
inline-face portion 11 of the upper face plate 41, a first base 52
which pushes up a rear guide member 51 provided at a rear portion
of the movable floor portion 36, a second base 54 which pushes up a
front guide member 53 provided at a front portion of the movable
floor portion 36, and a drive motor 55 which has a pinion gear 56
fixed to its output shaft are arranged on the support base 13 of
the heel-placement height adjusting device 12. Rack gears 57, 58
which are fixed to the first and second bases 52, 54 are driven by
the drive motor 55. Herein, the members 52, 54, 55 and others
constitute the drive portion 37 which drives the movable floor
portion 36 for moving up or down of the movable floor portion
36.
Thus, the drive motor 55 drives the rack gears 57, 58 in accordance
with the driver's adjustment of the longitudinal position and the
like of the driver's seat 1, so that the first and second bases 52,
54 are moved from an initial position where they are adjacent to
each other as shown in FIG. 16 to a rising position where they are
away from each other as shown in FIG. 17. Thus, rear and front
portions of the movable floor portion 36 are pushed up via the
first and second bases 52, 54, respectively. According to this
embodiment, the movable floor portion 36 can be driven to move up
or down smoothly with a simpler structure.
Embodiment 4
FIGS. 18 and 19 show a fourth embodiment of the driving position
adjusting apparatus of the present invention.
In the fourth embodiment, on the support base 13 of the
heel-placement height adjusting device 12 are provided the movable
floor portion 36 which has the inclined upper-face plate 41 as the
inline-face portion 11, a rotational axis 93 which extends in the
vehicle width direction, a drive gear 94 which is fixed to the
rotational axis 93, a drive motor 96 which has a pinion gear 95
fixed to its output shaft for driving the drive gear 94, a pair of
pushing links 97 which is fixed to the rotational axis 93 and
operates to push up the movable floor portion 36, and a guide
portion 98 which comprises a projection 43 which is provided at the
movable floor portion 36 and a guide bar 45 which supports the
projection 43 moving up or down. Herein, the members 93, 94, 96,
97, 98 and others constitute the drive portion 37 which drives the
movable floor portion 36 for moving up or down of the movable floor
portion 36.
Herein, in accordance with the driver's adjustment of the
longitudinal position and the like of the driver's seat 1, the
drive motor 96 drives so as to swing the pushing links 97, so that
a drive shaft 99 which is fixed to tips of the pushing links 97 is
guided so as to slide along an arc-shaped groove 36a which is
formed at a side plate of the movable floor portion 36. Thus, the
movable floor portion 36 is configured to move up or down between
its lowering position shown in FIG. 18 and its rising position
shown in FIG. 19.
Embodiment 5
FIGS. 20 through 24 show a fifth embodiment of the driving position
adjusting apparatus of the present invention. The fifth embodiment
shows an example in which the driving position adjusting apparatus
for a vehicle further comprises a footrest 700 on which the
driver's foot is rested, and a footrest adjusting device 100 which
adjusts a rest state of the driver's hoot by the footrest 700
according to the adjustment of a heel-placement height adjusting
device 120 which adjusts the height position of the driver's heel
placed on the incline-face portion. Herein, the heel-placement
height adjusting device 120 performs substantially the same
function as the heel-placement height adjusting device 12 in the
above-described embodiments. Further, the footrest 700 is arranged
beside the respective pedals 4, 5 and 6, that is, on the vehicle
central side of these pedals 4, 5 and 6 to support the driver's
hoot not operating, that is, the driver's left foot as shown in
FIG. 20. The components or structures of the fifth embodiment which
are substantially the same as those of the above-described
embodiments are denoted by the same reference characters, and their
detailed descriptions are omitted here.
In the present embodiment, the heel-placement height adjusting
device 120 comprises, as shown in FIG. 22, a movable floor portion
360 and a drive portion 370 which drives the movable floor portion
360 for moving up or down of the movable floor portion 360. The
movable floor portion 360 is configured to extend further toward
the center of the vehicle, compared with the movable floor portion
36 of the above-described first embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and
additionally and integrally comprises a recess portion 400 which is
positioned behind the clutch pedal 6 at a central portion thereof
and an incline-face portion 410 which is positioned behind the
footrest 700 at a left-side portion thereof. This recess portion
400 is properly formed so as to allow the driver to operate (press)
the clutch pedal 6 smoothly with the driver's left foot without any
interference of the heel of the driver's hoot with the movable
floor portion 360. Meanwhile, the incline-face portion 410
functions as part of the footrest adjusting device 100 which
adjusts a rest state of the driver's hoot by the footrest 700.
The drive portion 370 has a structure to move up or down the
movable floor portion 360, which is similar to the structure of the
drive portion 37 of the above-described first embodiment, but a
projection 390 which is formed to project from the front-face plate
40 has a screw hole like the projection 42 formed on the right
side, and an additionally-provided screw shaft 44 engages with this
screw hole. Thus, the movable floor portion 360 which comprises the
right-side incline-face portion 11 for supporting the heel of the
driver's right foot operating the pedals and the left-side
incline-face portion 410 for supporting the heel of the driver's
left foot rested on the footrest 700 is moved up or down by the
drive motor 48 of the drive portion 370.
FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. 20,
which shows a sectional view of the heel-placement height adjusting
device 120. FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of
FIG. 20, which shows a sectional view of the footrest adjusting
device 100. As shown in these figures, a floor mat 73, which
comprises a back reinforcing material 71 which is mainly made of
material having functions of vibration proof, sound insulation,
heat insulation and so on, such as melt sheet, felt, or glass wool,
and a layer material 72 which covers over an upper face of the
reinforcing material 71 and is made of pile material, is arranged
on an upper face of the floor panel 9. Further, a notch portion 77
for arranging the support base 13 and the movable floor portion 360
is formed at the reinforcing material 71 of the floor mat 73. The
support base 13 of the heel-placement height adjusting device 120
is disposed in this notch portion 77 and fixed onto the floor panel
9. Moreover, the above-described layer material 72 of the floor mat
73 has an expandable portion 78, which is made of bellows, for
example, which is expandable according to the moving up or down of
the movable floor portion 360 at its rear end portion as shown.
According to the fifth embodiment, the driving position adjusting
apparatus further comprises the footrest 700 which is provided
beside the operational pedals and the footrest adjusting device 100
which adjusts the position of the footrest 700 according to the
adjustment of the heel-placement height adjusting device 120.
Thereby, since the position of the driver's foot which is placed on
the footrest 700 for not operating the accelerator pedal 4 is
adjusted according to the adjustment of the heel-placement height
adjusting device 120, an imbalance in the foot angle between the
foot operating the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the right foot) and
the foot not operating the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the left
foot) can be restrained, so that the driver can be prevented from
having uncomfortable feeling.
Herein, the above-described footrest adjusting device 100 adjusts
the height position of the driver's heel rested on the footrest
700. Thereby, the height position of the heel placement of the
driver's foot (i.e., the left foot) which is placed on the footrest
700 for not operating the accelerator pedal 4 can be adjusted, so
that the imbalance in the foot angle between the foot operating the
accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the right foot) and the foot not
operating the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the left foot) can be
restrained. That is, it can be restrained that there occurs any
imbalance in the foot angle between the driver's pedal operating
foot (right foot) shown by a solid line R1 in FIG. 24 and the
driver's not-operating foot (left foot) shown by a broken line L1
in FIG. 24 is restrained, so that the driver can be prevented
properly from having uncomfortable feeling.
Moreover, the heel-placement height adjusting device 120 comprises
the movable floor portion 360 which is supported on the floor panel
9 so as to move up or down and the drive portion 370 which drives
the movable floor portion 360, and the footrest adjusting device
100 is comprised of part of the above-described movable floor
portion 360 and drive portion 370 of the heel-placement height
adjusting device 120 (that is, the left-side part of the
heel-placement height adjusting device 120 as shown in FIGS. 20 and
22) Thereby, the adjustment of the heel placement of the driver's
foot operating the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the right foot) and
the adjustment of the position of the driver's foot not operating
the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the left foot) can be conducted
concurrently.
Embodiment 6
FIGS. 25 through 26 show a sixth embodiment of the driving position
adjusting apparatus of the present invention. The sixth embodiment
shows a modified example of the above-described fifth
embodiment.
That is, according to the sixth embodiment, there is provided a
footrest adjusting device 100' which adjusts an arrangement angle
of the footrest 700, which is arranged on the floor panel 9
separately from the heel-placement height adjusting device
described above. This footrest adjusting device 100' comprises a
support portion 101 which has an arc-shaped support face to support
the footrest 700 rotatably, and a rotational drive portion which
comprises a drive motor 102 and a drive gear mechanism 103 and
drives the footrest 700 so as to rotate along the support portion
101.
According to the sixth embodiment, since the footrest adjusting
device 100' adjusts the arrangement angle of the footrest 700, the
sole angle .theta.7 of the driver's foot which is placed on the
footrest 700 can be adjusted, so that the imbalance in the foot
angle between the foot operating the accelerator pedal 4 (i.e., the
right foot) and the foot not operating the accelerator pedal 4
(i.e., the left foot) can be restrained.
Further, according to the sixth embodiment, the footrest adjusting
device 100' is arranged on the floor panel 9 separately from the
heel-placement height adjusting device. Thereby, the size of the
movable floor portion of the heel-placement height adjusting device
can be prevented from becoming improperly large, so that the
structure can be properly compact.
The present invention should not be limited to the above-descried
embodiments, and any other modifications or improvements may be
applied within the scope of a sprit of the present invention.
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